Top 10 Most Powerful Destroyers In The World

INTRODUCTION

The very word ‘Destroyer’ conveys destructive power, force, and strength. It is no surprise, therefore, when in naval terms, a destroyer is an extremely powerful warship which is meant to project power, perform complex missions and bring the enemy to their knees with its firepower. However, the destroyer didn’t start out as such. It was initially a small, fast, and manoeuverable fleet escort ship termed as a torpedo boat destroyer, whose only role was to find and sink enemy torpedo boats.

The first torpedo boat destroyers were developed in the last decade of the 19th century and gained prominence after World War I. Then they progressively grew in size to become significantly capable surface combatants by World War II. After this period, the invention of the naval surface to air and cruise missiles completely changed the look, size, and capabilities of a destroyer. The look of a warship bristling with dozens of guns was replaced by sleek lines and missiles stored under the deck. Though destroyers of now look less fearsome when compared to their WW2 counterparts, they carry several times the firepower and cutting edge sensors which allow 1 modern destroyer to do the job of around 10 legacy ones.

The below pictures highlight the evolution of destroyers with a gap of approximately 50 years between each.

Early 20th CenturyMid 20th Century21st Century

Defencyclopedia defines a destroyer as “A modern destroyer is a 6000-12,000 ton warship, equipped with an array of long-range missiles, guns, and high power radars, and is designed to operate autonomously or along with a battle group in order to fulfill a variety of tasks which typically consist of land attack, missile defense, and surface warfare”

Not every modern navy can afford to operate destroyers because of technological, budget, manpower, and location constraints. All the countries mentioned in this article have built their destroyers locally with either indigenously sourced or imported technology and designs. It is very rare for a country to export a destroyer these days as the market is limited to powerful countries which build their own destroyers anyways.

In this analysis, those destroyers which have well-balanced anti-submarine/air and surface capabilities are quoted as fully multi-role, whereas the ones with a specific role are quoted in their area of strength. The ranking is done on the basis of overall performance of the warship, including advanced technology, multirole capabilities, and aviation facilities. These rankings can vary when specialized capabilities are taken into. Hence, this article should not be quoted out of context. The article is intended to give an overview of the top 10 destroyers in service today, their capabilities and their drawbacks.

Special thanks to my friend D-Mitch of for creating some of the excellent infographics.

10. Akizuki class [Japan]

This is the newest class of destroyers in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Built with a high level of indigenous technology, they complement the larger and more capable Atago and Kongo class AEGIS destroyers in service. Their main role is to serve as armed escorts for the JMSDF helicopter carriers. At 6800 tons, they are basically in the same league as a modern European frigate, but Japan classifies them as a destroyer due to its comprehensive weapons and sensor suite. As of now, there are 4 ships of this class, with the final one commissioned in 2014.

Strength: Fully Multi-role

Propulsion: Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) propulsion with 4 Rolls Royce Spey SM1C gas turbines, providing 19.5 MW of power each for a total of 78 MW.

Sensors:

OPS-50 dual band multimode radar with 4 C-band and X-band faces each.

The C-band AESA radars are used primarily for long range search and tracking

The X-band AESA is primarily for fire control and provides target illumination for the ESSM in the terminal intercept phase.

A hull-mounted sonar

OQR-3 towed array sonar

An OPS-20C surface search radar.

The bigger square is the C-band radar and the smaller square is the X-band radar

Aviation: Full hangar facilities to support 2 x SH-60K helicopters for ASW roles.

9. Type-52C/Luyang II class [China]

Often dismissed as a Chinese knockoff of the American AEGIS destroyers, the Type-52C is completely unique and has no similarities with its American counterpart. These 7000-ton ships were built to test several new technologies like electronically scanning radars, long-range SAM system, land attack capability, indigenous closed loop CIWS and a new hull design. These features make the Type 52C a formidable opponent and laid the pathway for the future Type 52D destroyers with many more refinements and upgrades. This ship class basically heralded the entry into the era 21st-century technological warfare for the PLAN.

Strength: Anti-Air/Surface Warfare

Propulsion:

Combined Diesel Or Gas (CODOG) propulsion using only diesel engines for a low-speed cruise and using only gas turbines for high-speed cruise.

2 x Ukrainian DN80 gas turbines rated at 24 MW each for a total of 48 MW during high-speed cruise

2 x Shaanxi diesel engines rated at 5 MW each for a total of 10 MW during a low-speed cruise.

Sensors:

Type 346 dual-band Active Electronically Scanning Array (AESA) Radar with 4 faces mounted on the superstructure. It operates in C and S bands and its primary functions are search, track, and missile guidance

Type 517 VHF air search radar with an instrumented range of 300 km

Type 344 fire control radar for the 100 mm main gun

Hull mounted and variable depth active/passive sonar

A close up view of the S-band AESA

Armament:

1 x 100 mm Type 210 main gun, with a rate of fire of 90 rds/min and a range of 15-20 km.

48 x Vertical Launch System cells for HQ-9 long-range SAM system with cold launch technology (missile is ejected from the cell using compressed air, prior to ignition of the rocket motor). It has a range of 200 km and an active radar seeker which allows engagement of targets at very long ranges beyond the radar horizon of the ship.

2 x 30 mm Type 730 Close-in Weapons Systems with a rate of fire of 5800 rds/min and an effective range of 3 km for last ditch defense against cruise missiles.

2 x triple 324 mm torpedo tubes for lightweight torpedoes.

The fore VLS farm for 36 HQ-9 surface to air missilesA close up shot of the SAM launchers

Cons:

Lacks a secondary SAM layer which can engage targets at close ranges. Being a primarily AAW destroyer, it is essential to have this capability.

Absence of a towed array sonar due to hull design and budget limitations

Aviation: Hangar for 1 x Ka-28 or Z-9 ASW helicopter.

8. Type-45 Daring class [Britain]

Developed as a replacement for the Type 42, the Type 45 program was initially conceived as a 1 for 1 replacement for the 12 Type 42 destroyers. In the end, only 6 ships were built due to budget cuts and other issues and they serve as the sole destroyer class. These ships have cutting edge weapons and sensors as well as a high degree of automation, which reduces the crew requirement. Though at 8000 tons, these ships could have been made into multirole platforms, the Royal Navy chooses to give them only anti-air capabilities.

Its anti-surface capabilities will be negligible after the retirement of the Harpoon in 2018. The Sylver VLS farm in the front reportedly has space for the addition of 12 more A50 vertical launch cells for SAMs or A70 cells for the Scalp cruise missile. It will be interesting to see if the budget cuts allow the RN to deploy land attack cruise missiles on their primary air defense warship. It is interesting to note that this is the only single-role warship on this list.

Strength: Anti-Air Warfare

Propulsion: The Type-45s have a very advanced Integrated Electric Propulsion (IEP) system. It consists of diesel-electric propulsion combined with gas turbine propulsion to achieve maximum power and efficiency. The engines generate electricity, which runs the motors, which in turn turns the propellers.

Total output: 45,000 kW. This gives the ships a range of over 13,000 km at a speed of 18 knots.

Sensors:

Sampson multi-function Active Electronically Scanning Array (AESA) two-faced rotating radar, enclosed in a spherical radome, with a range of 300+ km. It provides guidance to the main gun and targeting data for the missiles.

Thales S1850M PESA long-range search radar operating in the L-Band. It has a range of 400+ km and is used to provide early warning against aerial threats and track ballistic missiles.

1 x BAE Mk8 114 mm gun which is used for engaging surface targets and also for shore bombardment during amphibious landings.

2 x 30 mm Bushmaster cannons which are mainly used to engage small craft.

48 cell Sylver VLS

Cons:

Issues with the Rolls-Royce gas turbines while operating in warm waters has reduced the availability and operational readiness of this class. This is being corrected with an expensive and lengthy refit.

Highly vulnerable to submarine attacks due to lack of integral torpedo tubes and towed array sonar. This makes it heavily dependent on its embarked helo and escort frigates for ASW protection.

7. Horizon/Orizzonte class [France/Italy] /

Having its origins as a pan-European program consisting of the UK, France, and Italy, the Horizon common frigate program originally called for 22 air-defense ships to be built, with 12 for the Royal Navy, 4 for the French Navy and 6 for the Italian Navy. But things were just not destined to be this way, with the UK withdrawing from the project due to disagreements regarding which company would lead the project, cost, technical issues and the number of ships for the French and the Italian navies being reduced to just 2 each.

However, France and Italy went ahead with the project by incorporating similar core weapons and sensors, resulting in the Horizon class ships we have today. Unlike the British solo-venture Daring class, which is capable of only anti-air warfare, the 7000-ton Horizons are multirole ships and can handle all sorts of threats including sub-surface ones. At present, they serve primarily in the anti-air role and are used as escorts for their carriers.

Primary radar is a Passive Electronically Scanning Array, which is inferior to the Active ESA in the Daring class. This will be rectified in the future with the installation of the MFRA (Multi Functional Radar Active) AESA radar.

You can check out an excellent and detailed analysis of these ships by Naval Analyseshere

6. Kolkata class [India]

Developed under Project-15A, the Kolkata class are the largest indigenously designed and built surface combatants in India. They are equipped with a wide variety of equipment from countries like Italy (main gun), Ukraine (gas turbines), Israel (Jointly developed LR-SAM) and Russia (Jointly developed BrahMos), which gives it the advantage of having cutting edge technology from the east and the west, infused into an Indian platform.

Displacing 7500 tons, the Kolkata class is the most powerful warship class in the Indian fleet, and will soon be joined by 4 ships of the Vishakapatnam class, which will have a similar configuration and capabilities with minor improvements. All 3 ships of the Kolkata class will be deployed with the Indian Navy’s Western fleet and will also serve as an escort for their carrier, INS Vikramaditya. These ships are built with plenty of room for additional upgrades and improvements in the future and have a large crew due to the presence of full-scale command and control facilities which enable it to act as the fleet flagship in the absence of a carrier.

2 x RBU-6000 (Modified version called Indigenous Rocket Launcher) for launching anti-submarine rockets with a range of 4.5 km.

2 x twin 533 mm heavyweight torpedo tubes for 4 torpedoes

BrahMos missile launchBarak-8 LRSAM launch

Cons:

The LW08 L-band volume search radar is outdated for such a modern warship. It needs to be replaced with a modern AESA like the ones on the Type-45

Aviation: Hangar facilities for 2 x multirole helicopters. Seaking at present and Seahawk in the future.

5. Hobart class [Australia]

The Royal Australian Navy is inching towards acquiring the coveted ‘Blue Water Navy’ status and the 6900-ton Hobart-class is just one type of asset that it is acquiring among others like 2 Canberra class LHDs (which can be used as mini-carriers with F-35B), 12 heavy diesel submarines and a fleet of next generation frigates. The Hobarts allow the RAN to provide a 600 km diameter protective umbrella while acting as a fleet escort, thereby bringing them up to the level of other top navies which have fielded similar air defense capabilities for some time now.

It is estimated that 3 Hobarts equipped with SM-6 missiles would be able to provide adequate air defense against threats encountered along their northern coast. This is a massive increase in capability, thanks to the advanced long-range radars and missiles on board. Though they have been marketed as AWD (Air Warfare Destroyers), they have some significant anti-surface and anti-submarine capabilities

Sagem VAMPIR IR search and track system for passive detection of cruise missiles, aircraft, and other asymmetric threats

Rafael Toplite stabilized target acquisition sights for 25 mm guns

AN/SPY-1D(V) phased array radar being installed

Armament:

48 x cell Mk 41 VLS for a mix of

SM-2 (150+ km range)

ESSM (50 km range), 4 missiles per cell

SM-6 (350 km range) surface to air missiles

8 x Harpoon anti-ship missiles

1 x 127 mm Mk45 main gun

2 x 25 mm Bushmaster cannons in Typhoon remote mounts

1 x Phalanx 20 mm close-in weapons system (CIWS)

2 x Mk32 twin torpedo tubes for MU-90 lightweight torpedoes

Cons:

Lack of a long-range land attack missile

Aviation: 1 x hangar for a single MH-60R helicopter

4. Type-52D / Luyang III-class / Kunming class [China]

The successor of the highly capable Type-52C destroyers, the 52D incorporates several significant improvements from guns, radars to missile launchers. These 7500-ton destroyers are being mass produced and are expected to form the core of the PLAN’s blue-water ambitions. The highlight of the ship is its Universal Vertical Launch System, which allows a single launcher to fire a variety of missiles ranging from surface to air, anti-submarine, anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles.

This technology, which was pioneered by the US, has now been perfected by the Chinese as well, making them the second country to do so (The VLS systems like UKSK and Sylver are not truly universal). These ships are expected to be further improved upon and the result is expected to be the all-powerful Type 55 destroyer. Recently, the 12th destroyer was launched and 1 of these destroyers has already been deployed as part of the Liaoning carrier battle group.

Cons: On paper, this ship doesn’t have any glaring drawbacks. Great job China.

Aviation: Hangar for 1 x Ka-28 or Z-9 ASW helicopter.

3. Atago class [Japan]

The Atago class destroyers form the spearhead of the Japanese sea-based air defense with their advanced radars and long-range missiles. In the face of increasing missile threats from North Korea and Chinese adventurism near the disputed Senkaku islands, Japan is further committed to increasing the strength of their Atago class fleet from 2 ships to 4, with the new ships being equipped for exo-atmospheric ballistic missile defense. These 10,000-ton destroyers place a major emphasis on long range area air defense as the Japanese lack carrier based jets to do the job.

The Atagos are significantly larger than the Arleigh Burkes from which they derive their base design. There have been major changes to the ship however including superstructure design and VLS layouts, which easily distinguish it from the American Burkes. At present, the Atago class is more advanced and powerful than any Chinese warship, but it will soon be dethroned from this elevation by the arrival of the next generation Chinese missile cruisers. The Atagos noticeably lack long range offensive firepower which is in line with the defensive Japanese naval doctrine.

No long range land attack capability. This feature is supported by the Mk41 VLS but the Japanese have chosen not to incorporate it.

No secondary surveillance radar

Aviation: 1 x hangar for a single SH-60K helicopter

2. Arleigh Burke class [USA]

The Arleigh Burke class is the most successful destroyer class in the world, with 62 warships in service and 7 more under construction. The reduction in the number of Zumwalt-class destroyers to 3 from 32 is going to give a further boost to the Arleigh Burke class, as it is the only destroyer in mass production for now. The number of units is expected to swell to around 80 ships by 2025 with the induction of the improved Flight III ships.

Since their introduction in 1991, they have served in every theater of conflict for the US Navy and carried out escort missions, deterrence patrols, anti-piracy missions, ballistic missile defense duties, land attack, anti-air and HADR (humanitarian and disaster relief) missions, making it rich in terms of combat experience. These 9800-ton ships have powerful radars, a large missile armament, and continuous upgrades, which make them suited to handle any threat in any ocean in the world.

No secondary volume search radar. This allows the ship to perform either only ballistic missile defense (high elevation scan) or cruise missile defense (low elevation scan). This makes it vulnerable to sea-skimming cruise missiles while operating in ballistic missile defense mode. The Phalanx will be the only defense during that time as it has its own radar system. A solution has been implemented with the installation of the self-contained SeaRAM missile system in place of the less-effective Phalanx. This is currently under testing and will be retrofitted on most of the ships later on.

SeaRAM

Dependence on mechanical X-band illuminators for the SAMs, limit the numbers targets intercepted simultaneously. Japanese warships use AESA X-band illuminators which solve the problem.

Note: The flight III ships will solve both these problems with the addition of a 4-faced X-band AESA in addition to the 4 faced S-band AESA.

Aviation: 2 x hangars for S-70B/MH60R Seahawk multirole helicopters

1. King Sejong the Great class [South Korea]

Surprise surprise! I know you didn’t expect South Korea to appear in the number 1 spot, but that is how it is. They have a massive shipbuilding industry, which can rival and outperform the ones in Europe and the US. These ships were built in a very short duration (around 2 years) and also possess the distinction of being the world’s largest destroyer, displacing a mammoth 11,000 tons when fully loaded. Based on the Arleigh Burke design, they have a comprehensive sensor and weapons suite which enables them to carry out basically any mission from cruise missile defense to attacking land targets 1500 km away to high-intensity anti-submarine warfare.

A single warship of this class can obliterate the entire North Korean surface, sub-surface fleet and pound targets deep within their territory without breaking a sweat. The powerful on-board radars are often used for tracking North Korean space and missile launches. 3 additional ships have been approved for construction to complement the existing 3 in service.

Cons: No secondary volume search radar. This is not an operational necessity for the South Koreans since their ships are not intended for overseas combat, but for mainland defense, and thus can be complemented by land-based radars and AWACS.

Aviation: Hangar for 2 x SH-60 Seahawk or Lynx helicopters.

CONCLUSION

If there is one conclusion we can come to, it is that the American AEGIS+SPY+Mk41 combination is the ideal choice for a multirole destroyer. It offers exceptional flexibility, upgradability, and scalability which will keep it relevant in the future as well.

It is interesting to note that not a single Russian ship features in this particular list, owing to the fact that they haven’t designed and built a modern destroyer for over 30 years.

This situation is unlikely to improve soon and the next class of Russian destroyers is expected only around the 2025-2030 period. Still, Russia maintains an indirect presence in this list as many of their weapons and subsystems have been incorporated on the Indian and Chinese destroyers in this list.

Wondering why the 14,000 ton Zumwalt doesn’t feature in this list? That’s because they are guided missile cruisers and have the ‘destroyer’ classification wholly for political reasons. Also, they are ‘TABPUS’ – Technologically Advanced But Practically Useless Ships 😉

The under-construction Chinese Type-55 ‘destroyers’ are also cruisers at 14,000+ tons and will not feature in a top 10 destroyer lost.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to make a top 10 cruiser list as only the USA, China, and Russia operates them. However, I will try to cover these cruisers in separate articles in the future.

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101 Replies to “Top 10 Most Powerful Destroyers In The World”

Top 3 *are *similar, genius. #3 and #1 on this list are derived from #2, as the article clearly mentions and as the conclusion clearly reinforces. Japan and Korea have based their DDGs on a successful basic design. That’s not boring — that is common sense.

Interesting to note that HMS Belfast from WWII classed as a light Cruiser (and now a floating museum ship in London) is 11,500 tons. At the rate of increase in tonnage of the Destroyer class it will soon be higher than the Light Cruisers.

A fair while ago a RN Destroyer paid a goodwill visit to London and tied up alongside HMS Belfast yet was clearly larger than Belfast.
I’m sure the WWII belt armour of Belfast played a part in total weight?
The 6″/15cm guns of HMS Belfast can reach about 25 miles yet now it seems a 4.5″ gun can do the same.

It would be nice to see how hull protection has changed (or lack of) in a brief article, along with other background articles. I know how HMS Sheffield came a cropper in 1982, but why have navies abolished hull protection for instance? Why is the Destroyer class getting ever heavier/larger? The Hunt Class Destroyers in the RN at 1939 were just 1,000-1,300 tons.

PS,
The Hunt Class were just as fast as any modern Destroyer nearly 3/4 of a century on, why is that?
This was just an average UK destroyer Class at the start of WWII in 1939, so nothing special about them.
Why has average speed stayed the same?
I also noticed their maximum range which seems almost comparable to any modern destroyer who are huge by comparison to those tiddlers and should thus have more power plants and greater range surely?

The Zumwalt will become the most powerful ship in the world when outfitted with a MW laser. You do realize that those ships were designed to eventually carry that weapon don’t you? It is untargetable in weather where a MW laser is ineffectual. Thus until it runs out of bullets it is indestructible.